War is a matter of vital importance to the State; the province of life or death; the road to survival or ruin. It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied. (I.1)

-Sun Tzu

2009 A.T.B.

A black-haired boy dragged his feet slowly across the garden of the Imperial Aries Villa of Brittania, with thoughts of the previous day's gruesome events running rampant in his head; it should have been strategy flowing in his thoughts, as is expected of a chess master of his caliber, yet it was not. Instead, the twin curses of rage and paranoia had overcome him, and his grief helped him none either.

Suddenly, he stopped. The frown that marked his face like a permanent fixture since the assassination of his mother by unknown "terrorists" – so claimed the officials in Britannian government – turned into an expression of a mix between helplessness and anger.

"I am Lelouch vi Britannia, the eleventh prince, yet I could do nothing to help mother! Why am I so powerless? I was not there protect them, and now mother is dead and Nunally is in the hospital," the boy called Lelouch vented out, without an articulation that spoke volumes of his intelligence, the kind of mastery of language that one could not expect from a mere ten-year-old. He then continued to speak to nobody in particular, "I will find your killers mother! I swear it! But I need power first."

"And what will you do with that power, boy?"

Lelouch swerved around to face the stranger, with swiftness commendable enough to be considered a true sign of his heritage, what with his mother being the renowned Marianne the Flash, former Knight of Six and Empress Consort of Britannia.

"Who are you?" He demanded. The sight that met him – a girl whose appearances made her out to be no older than sixteen years old, or seventeen – seemed oddly familiar to him. He mused on whether he had seen this girl around Mother occasionally when Mother thought that nobody was paying attention. He had never questioned his Mother about the girl because he thought everyone deserved his or her own privacy, and if Mother thought him unfit to know, then he needed not know. Yet now it seemed that he had lacked foresight then, for he could not deem this person either a suspect or otherwise with his limited knowledge. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion and tensed his muscles – however non-existent they may be – in anticipation of a possible attack.

"You may call me C.C." promptly replied the slender, pale skinned, green-haired girl who wore clothes that seemed rather out of place, or at least a century behind the fashion times. Lelouch pondered for a moment what could have been going through the girl's head, when she chose to wear a large black hat that shaded her amber eyes from the piercing sun, in a manner that caused her to look as if she wanted no attention, yet contrasting completely with the very striking, out of place clothing. He had almost forgotten to be alert for an attack before the girl broke him out of his silent contemplations. "Are you going to answer the question, boy?"

"The question…?"

"You ought to pay attention when a lady speaks to you, boy. What will you do if you had power?" C.C. replied with an amused expression.

"What—I would find my mother's killers!"

"And how will you accomplish that?"

"I don't kn—That would depend on what kind of power I had. Why are you asking this?"

"Oh but you have no power now do you? What will you do?" the girl called C.C. continued without regard for his own question.

"I am the eleventh prince, Lelouch vi Britannia! I will seek an audience with my father, the Emperor!" Lelouch proclaimed with a hint of annoyance at the stranger that sought such information without giving him a reason. He wondered what it was that made him answer at all. Perhaps it was-

"And you think he will do anything?"

"What! He has to, he must!"

"And if he did not, what then?"

"I…I don't know. But I won't stop until I deliver justice to her killers, and make the world safe for Nunally!"

C.C. seemed to pause in deep thought for a moment while staring at the boy in front of her. Suddenly she moved forward and gripped Lelouch's wrist. A stream of images flashed through Lelouch's mind: he saw ancient ruins, ancient people, a strange bird-like symbol, and even his father. Father?

"A convergence with the Ragnarok connection? So the myth is beginning once again?"

What was that? The Ragnarok connection? Lelouch questioned as the image disappeared again and he was hurtling through some sort of strange vortex. The he heard C.C. voice all around him, You seem to have a reason to live. You want power don't you? This is our contract. In return for my gift of power to you, you will grant one wish of mine. The voice seemed to echo with an unearthly power all around him but he knew that this could not possibly be reality. It must be in his head. The power she promised appealed to him, but he could not made such a decision lightly, especially not when he did not yet have all the facts.

What is the wish I must fulfill? He asked.

You do not have to know right now. If you enter into this contract, you will live as a human, but as one completely different. Different rules, different time, a different life... the power of the king will make you live a life of solitude. If you are prepared… the voice elaborated.

Lelouch thought of his powerlessness again. He realized that his title as a prince was meaningless, for he held no real power. The image of his father flashed before him once more, and his decision was clear. If his father was somehow involved in all this, this "Ragnarok connection", then something bigger was going on. It seemed surreal to him, yet there was no other explanation for why his father would appear in the images he witnessed.

I hereby accept your contract!

The vortex disappeared suddenly to reveal the real world once more. Lelouch felt a surge of something, perhaps energy, in his left eye. And in that moment, he just knew that he had the power of Absolute Obedience. There was no other way to put it, yet somehow he knew that he had the power to control anyone by ordering them to do something with this…this… Geass, which is the name he had seen in one of the images flashing before his eyes.

"Very well then. I will use this power to accomplish my goals, then I will fulfill your wish, whatever it may be." Lelouch declared with a new air of conviction while closing his eyes to begin thinking up plans.

"From now on, we are accomplices, Lelouch." C.C. assured him. Then in a lower voice that Lelouch did not quite hear, "When the time is right, I will find you again." However much she realized that Lelouch needed more guidance at the moment, she knew that it was too dangerous for her to stay. It was better to wait until Lelouch was someplace else, not under the close scrutiny of Britannia's finest.

Just like that, she walked off hurriedly, leaving behind the young strategist to determine his next course of action. After a few minutes in deep thought – that calm state which he had not experienced since the death of his mother – Lelouch opened his eyes with a smirk forming on his lips as he thought of ideas to "play" with his power. But before that, he would ask directly from the source. Unfortunately for him, it would seem that C.C. would not be able to help him for she had already left the scene.

Thus, Lelouch's powerlessness came to an end, and his grand strategy began.

Edited July 2nd, 2010: This chapter was split, because the other part was not appropriate for a prologue-like chapter. Some new content was added, but only minor details, along with slight errors fixed and some inconsistencies with canon (Marianne was the Knight of Six, but I had her as the Knight of One).